Shocking News! A Second Income is Essential Say Millions!

Every year, CHOICE, the Australian Consumers Association magazine, carries out a cost of living report. At My Second Income, we review their reports and what we saw in their latest edition is part of the reason we decided to do what we can, to give people ideas and help, for developing a second income.

It reminded us, that more and more households can no longer manage to cover the bills with only one wage. When we looked at similar studies from across the world, it became clear to us that this was a worldwide issue that is affecting many people.

The cost of living is outstripping the rate at which wages are rising. More people are struggling to pay their bills despite being in full time employment.

They need a second income to be able to afford to look after their family.

That is what our website www.mysecondincome.comis all about – sensible and yet easy ways for you to earn a second income and if necessary, to do so from your home.

Our background is in the art and craft fields including that of hobby ceramics, where for almost 20 years, we assisted people to develop highly profitable home businesses.

To help you to realise you are not alone, and to encourage you to take action and secure yourself and your family more income, we have summarised some of the finding of the CHOICE Cost of Living Report. If when reading it, you feel this is you, please don’t feel down and click away

We are here to help, so please click through to other areas of the site and find some interesting ways to earn extra income, while still working at your regular job.

The Methodology

In total, 1,000 Australians were asked about their income now in comparison to last year. They were drawn from all walks of life, different parts of Australia and salary points.

Bills Have Increased

When asked if their bills had increased over the past 12 months people responded as follows:

48% said their bills and costs had increased a lot

41% said their bills were slightly higher than they were a year ago

The rest had not noticed much of an increase, but none said that their bills had fallen.

Difficult to Make Ends Meet

31% of respondents were not able to cover their bills

62% were having to cut back on non-essentials like holiday to pay their bills

46% had cut back on the essentials that they bought

Worried About Rising Bills

Even those who were covering their bills had concerns about paying their bills in the future. One of the major concerns was the rising cost of fuel and power bills.

52% were worried about the rising cost of electricity

50% were concerned about the rising cost of fuel

Medical bills were another area where costs were perceived as rising, which was leading to concern in many households.

68% expressed concern about the rising cost of drugs

65% were concerned that the cost of GP bills was rising

Less Help from Governments

In the past, in Australia, and many other parts of the world, the government provided help. They are still doing so, but with huge budget deficits most governments are cutting back on social spending this means that there is less and less help available from the state.

This is not likely to change any time soon. Most economists predict that governments will continue to cut back on social spending, so there will be less help available from that quarter. In the survey, 37% or people said they were worried about decreasing levels of government support.

Borrowing from Family and Friends

The CEO of CHOICE, Alan Kirkland said:

“Almost one in three respondents told us they find it difficult to get by on their current income, with one in five saying they have scraped through to payday by living off credit or borrowing from friends or family,”

He also explained that inflation was outstripping wage growth.

Dipping into Savings

Many people are using their savings. In Australia, 35% or people are having to dip into their savings to pay their bills.

Paying Late

Just over 22% or respondents in the survey said they had deliberately paid a bill late because they had to buy essentials.

The Future

Currently, there is little sign that things are getting better or are going to any time soon. Sadly, this means that more people will struggle to make ends meet on a single income.

Securing a Second Income

We know, from experience, how tough it is to live through a recession. I am old enough to have seen several recessions, so have seen many of my friends and family despair as their daily costs outstrip their income.

Fortunately, I know that there is an answer.

One that works, and which practically anyone can implement. That is to earn a second income.

Find the security that a second income stream can bring, by finding something that you have knowledge about and more importantly like doing, to develop a second income.

Here, on this site, I share with you some surprisingly easy ideas for little known home businesses, that others have found successful, to give you a starting point to develop a business or service of your own.

In the main they are all:

Easy to implement

Zero or low start-up costs

Not time consuming, so that you can still hold down your regular job

Strong demand

If you have the slightest spark of entrepreneurship in your bones Malcolm wants you to develop it and we will help in any way we can.

We have a newsletter called “1001 Little Known Businesses for a Second Income” based on a book I co-authored many years ago designed to give you ideas and inspiration to start a small home business of your own. If you would like to receive a copy.Click Here